A new report by global consulting firm McKinsey and Company has revealed that only one in three entry-level formal sector jobs in Nigeria are held by women, highlighting a major barrier to gender equality in the workplace.
The findings were unveiled on Tuesday at the Africa CEO Forum 2025, where McKinsey launched the latest edition of its Women in the Workplace report—its first to include Nigeria, Kenya, and India.
Based on data from 324 organizations employing approximately 1.4 million people across the three countries, the report underscores that Nigeria’s gender gap in the private sector is rooted in the early stages of employment.
“The data tells a clear story: Nigeria’s leadership gap is rooted in the entry-level barrier,” said Mayowa Kuyoro, Partner at McKinsey and Company and co-author of the report.
“Once women are in the system, they advance steadily, but the path remains too narrow at the start.”
The report found that women occupy just 33 percent of entry-level roles in Nigeria’s formal sector, despite broader participation in the overall workforce. This early imbalance appears to be the primary reason why women’s representation remains low throughout the employment pipeline.
Interestingly, the study observed that women’s representation remains relatively steady beyond entry-level roles, with approximately 29 percent of managerial and senior leadership positions held by women. This consistency suggests that the biggest hurdle is not retention or promotion but initial access to formal employment.
Further analysis revealed that senior women in Nigeria are more likely than men to receive promotions. However, they are also more likely to exit their roles or make lateral moves within organizations. This trend underscores the importance of both advancement and stability in career progression for women.
On organisational practices, the report found that policies related to safety, security, and bias mitigation are already in place across a wide range of companies. However, companies that perform better on gender equity tend to have additional support mechanisms. These include flexible work arrangements, which were 34 percent more likely to be found in better-performing firms; mentorship and sponsorship initiatives, which were 33 per cent more likely; and family and personal care policies, which were 23 percent more prevalent. Yet, the report also highlighted that even among companies with these policies, poor implementation remains a key challenge. This points to the critical role of not just adopting policies but ensuring they are actively and effectively enforced.
